IS THE USDA TRYING TO SCARE OFF HUNTERS?

Last fall Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was discovered for the first time in WI. It has been present in the west for years, but this is the first time it has crossed the Mississippi River. It is a disease very similar to "mad cow disease", only it affects deer instead. Deer hunters (including myself) are very concerned about eating the meat from infected animals. The best known defense for limiting the spread of this disease is to thin the deer population. Having a lot of hunters in the woods and swamps is the easiest, cheapest (actually it makes a profit for the state), most humane, and least wasteful option for doing this. However, deer license sales in WI are down 30% from last year. This will only help the problem to spread to other states.

I consider where I hunt to be safe for this season, it is far enough away from any known case; however, by next season I will not consider any area in WI safe. If I am not allowed an option to have a deer tested, I'll put the deer gun in a far back corner of the gun safe for the duration. In researching this subject I found that there is one organization that is preventing me from being able to have my deer tested at my own cost; the USDA.

Is the USDA attempting to scare off hunters? Yes, this is an inflammatory question, but one that needs to be asked. The USDA's stated objective is a safe commercial food supply; they have no vested interest in wild game. Every organization's goal is growth, if big game hunting in the USA ended there would be more demand for commercial meat such as beef and pork because hunters will not be filling their freezers with venison. This would mean a bigger budget for the USDA, more people working for them, more work for them to do. I can't help but wonder if this is not the reason they will not allow private companies to test for CWD. When this first hit WI, my first thought was to allow veterinarians to test deer for hunters; they have all the equipment (so I thought), and most of the training. I was wondering why such a solution was being blocked, and by who. I went to the Whitetails Unlimited web site, and discovered this page, http://www.whitetailsunlimited.com/pages/CWD%20Pages/TestingforCWD.htm . This told me who, but not why; which I had to infer. Perhaps it is just a desire to keep their monopoly on this testing process, or perhaps it is something more sinister. Either way, the USDA stance does not promote the public good.

In addition, limiting the availability of testing to a few government run sites increases the costs by limiting the supply and increasing transportation costs. It also limits the number of hunters in the woods and swamps by scaring them off. I will not feed my family meat that is suspect, so why would I hunt for suspect meat? Why will out of state hunters come to WI to hunt suspect meat? Heck, I just might go to KY next year to hunt pigs instead; I know they are safe as long as you cook it fully (and that you get that ticked off boar before he gets you!). Maybe I'll go to PA for deer, where the herd is safe for a couple of years. Maybe I'll save up my hunting money for a trip up to AK for moose.

The one thing I will not do, however, is to hunt for deer in an area where this disease is known to exist without an option to know if it is safe to feed to my family. The refusal of the USDA to allow private citizens to have their deer tested is not only elitist, but unconscionable and self-serving. Not only will they not allow private companies to learn how to do the recommended test, they will not allow us to send our deer to USDA labs; not enough capacity. Where does this leave the hunter? Their stance will allow this disease to spread all the way to NY state and Georgia within 5 years, since eastern deer herds are much more dense than the herds west of the river. It may be seen on the east coast even sooner, since many hunters will be putting their guns away.

This situation should have been addressed when it was first found in the US, after a test developed. Those areas that were infected could have been granted special hunts, with sharp-shooters coming in after to totally eliminate all suspect animals. This would have eradicated the disease. It is not too late to do so on this side of the river; but soon it will be, if pressure isn't put on the USDA to get out of the way and release their monopoly power over this testing process. I'd willingly pay a vet $50 to test a deer for me, and with competition for my business, I'd get the results in a few days rather than the weeks the USDA takes. This would keep me in the swamp in future years. At the moment, this looks like my last season.

I don't know how they are being tested; the info I got from WU states that the USDA has a lock on the test. In addition we have been told in WI that we cannot get our deer tested, except via the DNR.

Thanks for the post. Very informative and I agree political pressure needs to be applied to the USDA on access to testing.

I'm not a deer hunter (varmit hunter only) but support those who like to hunt deer.

Any suggestions on where to go in northern KY for wild pigs?

I live in Lexington, KY (roughly the geographic center of the state) but cannot direct you to any locations in Kentucky where you can hunt pigs. However, there are places in Tennessee that specialize in pig (boar) hunting. Look in the American Rifleman magazine for ads. Hope this is helpful.

Don't worry, in PA the herd is thinned out pretty much every day -- only problem is we use cars and trucks and take em by the thousands. Just push em out of sight (charities won't take them anymore unless they're wrapped freezer-ready). I forget the #'s reported killed every year, but I'll bet it's under-reported, and it's still a big number.

I saw a doe several times this year with triplets (same doe). There's a soy bean field in the area, and I spoke with the guy who's farming it. He said they eat pretty well and he can't access all the fields to thin them. He can take deer anytime, legally, for crop damage.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.